Sanctity of the court in question

Deficiencies in case could overturn ruling

SANTA FE >> The New Mexico Supreme Court is reviewing whether a judge was so cavalier in handling a plea bargain that a man's conviction for child molestation should be overturned.

Delmar Newman, now serving a three- to 15-year sentence in prison, contends that he never admitted to a crime when questioned by former state District Judge Thomas Hynes of San Juan County.

In addition, Newman says neither the judge nor his own lawyer at the time explained that he would have to register as a sex offender if he pleaded guilty. Newman says these deficiencies should negate the guilty plea that Hynes recorded.

The state Court of Appeals, in a 3-0 decision last year, upheld Newman's conviction for molesting his 12-year-old niece. But the Supreme Court accepted the case for review this month at the request of Newman's lawyer, Santiago Juarez.

Juarez and the state attorney general's staff submitted briefs that the Supreme Court will consider in deciding whether Newman's guilty plea should be thrown out and the case prosecuted a second time.

Assistant Attorney General Jacqueline R. Medina stated in her brief that Newman made "a highly inculpatory" taped confession to a police detective in Bloomfield. She said Newman in 2011 accepted a plea bargain to avoid a possible sentence of up to 88 years in prison if he had gone to trial and been convicted of all charges.

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Newman, who turns 58 next month, said through his attorney that he was confused at the hearing before Hynes and did not plead guilty in a knowing or intelligent way.

In his brief, Juarez said the judge never even asked Newman how he pleaded, though his lawyer volunteered that it was guilty.

Juarez said the plea hearing run by Hynes was imprecise and established no factual basis that a crime had occurred.

Newman's admission to Hynes was this: "OK, uh, sir, on March 6th, 2010, in San Juan County I touched the unclothed breasts (of the victim)."

Juarez said Newman's admission in open court was so stark that it could not constitute the factual basis for a guilty plea.

"This statement is insufficient to establish whether or not the touching was unlawful or intentional, or if it was done inadvertently or for some lawful purpose," Juarez wrote in his brief.

He said Hynes did not pin down the facts of the case and Newman's original lawyer, Steve Murphy, provided inadequate representation.

"The state beats one drum -- to seek and convince this court that, although the plea was not valid, it should be upheld," Juarez said.

The attorney general countered that Newman had confessed to "multiple sex acts" with the girl. Further, a detective with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office had testified that Newman had "pornographic images" on his computer, including some of the girl.

A ruling by the Supreme Court to take a few months to more than a year.

Milan Simonich, Santa Fe Bureau chief of Texas-New Mexico Newspapers, can be reached at 505-820-6898. His blog is at nmcapitolreport.com.

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